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Friday, January 25, 2013

No Grain Granola

I mentioned in an earlier post that I once tried the Paleo Diet with success and that I would be filling this site with recipes that I used and continue to use. This is another one of those recipes. This is my cereal. I have not been diagnosed lactose intolerant, but I do feel sick after drinking milk. So I enjoy this granola with unsweetened almond milk. It is divine. And a very small serving is incredibly filling. And if you store the granola in an airtight container, it will keep for months. Even better.

The "flakes" are slivered almonds that have been combined with melted coconut oil, which after baking them for a while in the oven produces a very crispy flake-like consistency. The other nuts you may choose to use play the role of honeyed granola clusters. Combine it all with your favorite dried fruit and there you have it - your own perfectly customized cereal. You might not even go back to the boxed grain cereal variety after trying this.

I will list the ingredients I used. Feel free to follow this recipe word for word the first time. Next time, try adding chopped or ground macadamia nuts to the slivered almonds and walnuts. Or, change out the dried cranberries for dried cherries or raisins. Pour in your imagination with each new batch.

Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Check consistency before turning off the oven. If you wish for the nuts to be slightly browned, bake an additional 5-10 minutes. Much longer gives them a slightly burnt flavor.

Remove cookie sheet from the oven and allow the nut mixture to cool. Transfer to a mixing bowl and stir in the dried fruit. (Note: I do not include the dry fruit with the nut mixture in the baking process because they will harden like rocks. Mixing them with the nuts after the mixture has cooled keeps them chewy).